3M Says No Evidence On Seizure Of N95 Respirators By U.S. Authorities

(RTTNews) - 3M rebuffed media reports over the alleged seizure of a shipment of N95 Respirators by U.S. authorities, saying there were a no evidence to suggest the Respirators were seized and diverted to the U.S.

Earlier, there were reports that U.S. authorities seized and diverted a shipment of 3M personal protective equipment on April 3, while in transit from a 3M China facility to Berlin Police.

"...... 3M has no record of any order of respirators from China for the Berlin police. We cannot speculate where this report originated," 3M said in a statement on Sunday.

3M has extended an offer to German authorities to try to determine if the false report is the result of fraudulent activity.

Meanwhile, 3M said it will continue to maximize the amount of respirators for healthcare workers in the U.S. and worldwide.

On Friday, 3M said it would comply with President Trump's order that requested the company to increase production of the much-needed N95 face masks for the United States. The US also requested to cease exporting the respirators to the Canadian and Latin American markets.

But, the company warned that ceasing all export of respirators produced in the United States would likely cause other countries to retaliate and do the same, as some have already done. There are also significant humanitarian implications of ceasing respirator supplies.

3M also warned that the net number of respirators being made available to the United States would actually decrease, if exports were banned.